NEWS

Minus forms, varsity goes paper-free

The admission process at
Delhi University has been eco-friendly this time around. By not giving out forms this
year, the university has saved a large amount of paper while some
colleges also cut down on the number of prospectus they printed.
Contributing to the environment may not have been deliberate, but the
university is riding high on this initiative, which has been a sort of
eye-opener.

"We used at least 2 lakh sheets of paper to print
forms till last year. All that paper has been saved this time. Also, no
post-registration documentation was required. Through the admission
process we have contributed to the environment in a small way," said
Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, deputy dean, students' welfare. The university
sold each form with an information bulletin at Rs 50. According to DU
officials, the cost incurred for printing each form with the information
bulletin was almost at par with the sale price and the university did
not earn profit through the sale of these forms even as there was no
official confirmation of the budget.

Colleges also ended up doing their bit. Kirori Mal College did not
print any prospectus this year though the number of prospectus sold last
time was more than 15,000, principal Bhim Sen Singh said. "We didn't
print it because we thought it was unnecessary this time. Who would have
bought them when there were no forms for registration?" he said.

Vinay Kumar Srivastava, principal, Hindu College, said, "Last year we
had printed 5,000 copies of the prospectus. As we knew we wouldn't be
selling many of them this time, we got only 2,000 copies printed. The
admission process has saved a lot of paper as well as hassle. There were
hardly any visitors to the campus before the admissions began thus
saving on petrol too."

According to environmentalists, DU should
now contribute to the environment in a more planned way. Ravi Aggarwal,
director, Toxics Link, said, "The university should ensure a cut in the
use of paper in a more structured way. They should make more things
online. Though saving paper in any way is a good attempt, DU should
definitely do more."